You Little Beauties – Nip+FAB Body Care

Crikey O’Riley, I think I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for all these years.  Well, I don’t ‘think’, I know I have: An exfoliating body lotion that doesn’t have a horrible smell, leaves the skin smooth and silky and is reasonably priced.

In my quest to get away from the pumice and the plastic beads, I started trying lotions with AHA’s in them.  First up was Palmers Anti-Ageing Smoothing Lotion (£5 for 250ml) which has a blend of AHA’s and BHA’s in it to slough off dead skin.  I love the results of this lotion and I’ve repurchased it on many occasions but I really, really dislike the smell when I was applying it.  It’s quite a masculine scent but not in a good way – it’s so unique that together with the Cocoa Butter Formula, it’s quite overpowering.  Anyway, I would only use it on my legs so it wouldn’t interfere with my perfumes.

So my mission was to find a nice smelling one.  I rather like the Dove scent so I was excited to see that they did Pro-Age Body Nourishing Lotion with AHA (£6 for 250ml).  I did smell it instore but when I got home and slathered it everywhere after a shower, I recoiled.  It smelt like a self-tan so I binned it and thankfully had a tube left of my trusted Superdrug Vitamin E Body Scrub. 

Anyhoo, the quest was still on.  I found all the products that I Googled and I still was having a problem with the smell of all of them (maybe there’s something in an acid formula that smells funky so they have to mask it which results in an even funkier smell?).   Months later and I’m now in the UK, I came across Nip+FAB’s Glycolic Fix Body Cream (£10 for 200m) containing glycolic, salicylic and lactic acids and I couldn’t wait to try it out!   I know it says it’s a cream but to me it’s more of a gel and goes on very nicely.  I didn’t check the smell of it actually before buying it as I did ‘click and collect’ at Boots and once again, I don’t like the smell of it BUT its only on application and its not overpowering like the previous ones.  I really like the results though; no tightness or dry, snakeskin-effect lower limbs and I have a lovely smooth bum and thighs so this is definitely going to be a repeat purchase.  Also I would like to try some of their skincare too.

Seeing as Nip+FAB are on promotion, it was half price at Boots so I thought I would buy their Viper Venom Body Serum too (as I love a good serum but have never tried a serum for the body).   Love the packaging on this one – black and lime green. 

Viper is said to do a lot: nourish, tighten and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.  I love the texture of this product.  It sinks quickly into the skin, leaves your skin feeling so soft and fresh and most importantly to me, as we have ascertained, it smells fantastic.  Almost powdery, which I love.  So, I’ve been using this on my upper body when I’m not at work or gadding about – ie, when I’m not wearing my Ambre & Santal perfume.  However, it would complement one of my other favourite perfumes, which has a powdery scent so happy days.

Nip+Fab Body Products 200ml 

200ml for £9.99 – NOW £4.99 at Boots

You Little Beauty – Ziaja Goat’s Milk Hand Cream

I was introduced to Ziaja when I flew across the Irish Sea to celebrate my birthday in Dublin and my sis happened to have a tube of Ziaja hand cream on the coffee table.

We were having cheeky glasses of wine (ahem) while I was waiting to catch my train for my hair appointment (yes, I’ve been flying back to Dublin to have my hair cut) when I caught sight of this little white tube with a goat on it.  It looked like a baby product to be honest but I squirted a dollop in the palm of my hands and haven’t looked back. 

My favourite hand cream of all time is Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream (£21 for 100ml) so this little beauty would have to be the mother of all hand creams ten times over to beat that one.  And surprisingly it does.  Oh and the scent of it - not to mention the price - is divine too. 

As soon as I got home, I find the product online and nearly fell of the sofa – it was only £2.50!  I bought two of them.  Now, as you guys know, I am intolerant to dairy so after my purchase, I thought would dairy in skincare affect me too?  It’s not being absorbed into my digestive tract and I’ve not felt ill using it so happy days.

First up, let’s talk about the brand.  It was established in 1989 in Poland by pharmacist brothers and their first product was a natural olive cream which is still sold today.  Their products are environmentally friendly and not tested on animals.  They produce skincare, haircare, body care and sun care products as well as having a range for baby and men.

So, onto that dollop.  Initially I thought the product was more balm than cream (balms tend to be denser than creams and more protective) and once its sunk in, your skin just becomes like satin – exceptionally smooth and its like you’re lost a few millimetres on the fingers – my wedding rings are so much looser after application.  Lines on my hands are reduced too as well as feeling protected – hence the balm-like sensation. 

For me though, the most important aspect of a hand cream is hydration – I loathe that tightness after washing my hands – hence the desire to use a hand cream and its horrible if you've already popped a cream on after you’ve washed your hands and you still feel the need to apply more.

The hand cream contains goat’s milk complex and vitamins A, E and B5.  Goat’s milk has been beautifying women and men centuries.  It contains lactic acid which is an AHA that helps to slough off dead skin cells too.  It’s also packed with vitamins and nutrients that can repair and reduce wrinkles and with fatty acids and a pH level that is similar to our own, all of the above promotes healthy skin. 

Ziaja do many hand creams, containing argan oil, coconut, olive oil, cocoa butter and cashmere to name but a few.  Next, am gonna get me some Ziaja Coconut Hand Cream and one of their body butters.
 

Ziaja Goat’s Milk Hand Cream

80ml for £2.50 from www.ziajaonline.co.uk